Yarn winding apparatus



July 25, 1 944. E. K. GLADDlNC-i 2,354,455-

YARN WINDING APPARATUS Original Filed Dec. 21, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l Ernest K. INVENTOK,

BY J

Arm/ems) July 25, 1944. GLADDING 2,354,455

YARN WINDING APPARATUS OriginalFiled Dec. 21, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 19 H I ll I l t": I 20 I 1': I l a4 ll ErnestK Gladdizgy INVENTOR' A 77'OEIVEY agel, Serial No; 369,951, filed tends Patented July 25, 19 4,

un -Tao STATES PATENT orricsf Ernest Knight Gladding, Wilmington, DcL, as-

signor to E. I; du Pont de Nemours & Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Original application December 21,1940, Serial No.

371,106, new Patent No. 2,304,564, dated December 8, 1942. Divlded'and this applicationMa! 28, 1942. Serial No. 444.833

fifciaima (Cl. 242-43) scribed in co-pending Spanagel application referredto above.

This invention relates to the production of text-- tile yarn packages and is particularly concerned with the winding of synthetic linear polyamide -multifllament yarn to which has been applied a sizing composition. 5

' However, if precision winding is used in the winding of yarn while wet with size which has This is a division 01' my co-pending application Serial No. 371,106, flied December 21, 1940, now

Patent No. 2,304,584,1ssued December 8, 1942.

Since the invention in its preferred form is concerned with the combined sizing and winding of synthetic linear polyamide multifllament'yam, it will, forpiu'poses of illustration, be. described specifically with respect to this preferred opera tion and to this preferred type of yarn.

. It is desirable to subject synthetic linear polyamide 'multiiilament yarn to a sizing operation i 'in order to adapt the yarn to various textile operbeen applied in accordanc with the aforementioned Spanagel process, the yarn windings adhere tenaciously weach other because of the fact that theadhesivejsizehardens on the bob. bin and cements adjacent yarn windings together; and this causes great diiiiculty in the unwinding of the bobbin in. subsequent operations. Precision winding of yarn sized and wound while wet is also accompanied/by the formation of tuckunders, i. e., the displacement of yarn windings and the tucking oifsuch windings under'a lacent windings, and this is especially true in the case or synthetic linear polyamide yarn in whichthe ing or yarn windings on the wind-up bobbin dur-' with a co-pe'nding application of Edgar W. Spanmber is, 1940,

now Patent No. 2,278,902, issued April 7, 1942, T

by contacting. the yarn in its passage from the supply. bobbin to the wind-up 'bobbin with an aqueous solution containing .a suitable size, the sized yarn beingwound on to the wln zup bobbin while still wet with the sizing composition.

7 Itiswell-knownin the textileartsto wind yarn packages. by a precision' winding operation in which the traverse guide or button which is operated by the traverse mechanism, is kept at all times in direct contact with the body of yarn being wound, in order to insure uniiorm layot the yarn by virtue of theiact that the,

yarn is always laid down at the position occupied by the thread guide. This precision winding 1 to eliminate thewell-known phenomenon or overthrown ends or loops." In unwinding a package or yarn in which loops are present and particularly where the' unwinding is accomplished y unwinding the yarn over one end of thepackage onlyithe unwinding generally being accomplished at a highrate of speed), the loops tend to catch in the'main body of the yarn packuo causing yarn and filament breakage and uneven draw-oil tension. This is especially truewhen filaments areround in cross-sectionv and tend to roll and becomedisplaced as, the adhesive size hardens. -Tuck-undrsare especially likely to take place in the wet winding of sized'yarn during precision winding, of occasional shitting drying, and tuck-'unders are particularly serious in such a system because oi 'wicking of the size towards the ends of th wind-up bobbin. Tuck-unders may also occur in the case of yarn which possessed a high twist prior to sizing and which alter twisting, according to the r 39 Spanagel proeedure,'especially when the yarn is dealing with low denier yarn or when dealing with yarn which has been sized and wound wet according to the bobbin-to-bobbin process desubsequen'tly subjected to a high temperaturehigh humidity operation -ior setting the twist in the yarn,

phenomena of loops and tuck-unders cause.

particular trouble where the precision wound yarn is wound with straight ends as distinguished from beveled ends.

1 Additionally, where yarn is sited in a bobbinto-bobbin sizing operation and is precision wound while wet. the size tends to collect on the thread guide and, upon drying, becomes a hard abrasive substance which, because'oi' its direct contact with the yarn onthe wind-up bobbin, tends to cause filament and yarn'br'eskage.

It is an'obiect oi this invention to produce a yarn package which can readily be unwound even when the yarn is wound while wet with a sizing composition.

Itis a further oblect'oi this invention to provide a novel means and method for traversing yarndurlngwind-up.

A still further oblect'oi the invention relates to the production of a useful yarn package, in which the yarnis-iaid down a: random rash-'- Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The objects of the invention. are accomplished, in general, by winding yarn, is still wet with a sizing composition, on to a windup package, in random fashion, that is, not according to a pre-arranged or pro-determined plan, whereby to produce a yarn package which will unwind, under a constant tension, and with a minimum of yarn or filament breakage, especially when the unwinding takes place by over-end draw-01f.

The invention is conveniently carried out by the use of the apparatus shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic front view of a bobbin-to-bobbin sizing machine embodying a wind-up mechanism of the character embodied in the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side view (actual size) of a form of traverse arm and guide assembly designed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 4 is a top view of the traverse arm and guide assembly shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a front view of the apparatus shown in Figure 3; v

Figure 6 is aside view of a modified form of traverse arm and guide assembly utilizin the principles of the invention;

Figure '7 is a top view of the assembly shown in Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a front view of in Figure 6.

Referring to Figures 1 to 4 of the drawings, the invention is carried out, in one of its forms,-as follows:

Yarn is supplied from a yarn wound on a bobbin 2 which is supported in any convenient manner. The yarn 3 is unwound over the end of the supply package I, passing through a guide 4 through washboard tension guide 5 consisting of two co-acting members, passing thence through leaf guide 6 likewise consisting of two co-acting members which bear against the yarn at their upper ends, the upper the assembly shown package I of unsized edges of which are disposed at 90 to the faces of washboard tension members 5, through thread guide I. The yarn then passes over the roller 8, the lower portion of which is immersed in a sizing solution contained in trough 9, Roller 8 is supported by means of shaft 10 rotated in bearings H and positively rotated by we pulley l2 driven from any suitable source of power. Size is uniformly applied to the yarn 3 as it contacts roller 8. Rpller 8 may be connected with means for imparting axial motion in order that the yarn will not wear a'groove in the roller. The yarn leaving roller 8 passes through thread guide I3 which guide tends to accumulate size from the yarn passing through it and, since the size, after drying, tends to. abrade the yarn, it preferably will be constructed so as to be quickly removed for cleaning and a clean guide substituted therefor. The yarn passing through thread guide l3 comes in contact with a traversing mechanism (described in greater detail below) generally designated by the numeral ll, the yarn passing up-' wardly from traversing mechanism H at an angleto its path just prior to reaching traversing mechanism H, being then wound on to bobbin l5 which is supported and rotated by any suitable means (not shown). Metallic shield 16 partially surrounds the bobbin l5 and is'pro especially yarn which ing block vided with a heating element l'l adapted to dry the sizing composition on the yarn at a predetermined rate.

Figures 3, 4 and 5- show a traversing thread guide mechanism of novel construction, generally designated by numeral N. This guide assem bly comprises a traverse bar It, reciprocated longitudinally by any conventional means and preterably adapted to have a constant stroke. A block I!) is attached to the'traverse bar 18 by a screw bolt 20 which is threaded into the block IS. A sheet of spring material 2| is held in place between the block l9 and the traverse bar I8 between which members a portion of the spring 2| is clamped. This spring member is provided with any suitable means, e. g., an integral projection 20a, which normally maintains the outer part of the spring leaf out of contact with the traverse bar l8. Loosely mounted in the block 19 isan axle 22 to which is non-rotatably fixed a vibrat- 23, a single arm thread guide 24 being non-rotatably fixed to the end of axle 22 opposite the end to which is positioned the vibrating block: 23. The axle 22 is freely mounted within the block 19 in order that it may rotate freely. The block 23, because of the loose mounting of the axle 22, is free to turn to an angle of approximately 40'' by virtue ofthe clearance of the block with respect .to th spring 2| and the traverse bar l8 and by virtue of the shape of thelower surface of the block as shown, motion of the block 19 being restrained by the spring 2|. As the traverse bar l8 reciprocates, the block,

by virtue of the continuous contact of the guide of the traversestroke, the yarn is laid down according to no pre-arranged plan, but its position of lay-down depends on 'the random position of thethread guide when the traverse bar begins to reverse its direction of motion.

, Thus, by the operation of the laws of chance, the bobbin' is built up with tapered ends from which the yarn may be removed, or unwound, with great facility as compared with the extremely difdcult unwinding which is characteristic of yarn wound by direct contact of the traverse button with the body of yarn being wound. A close inspection of the package will show that there are no overthrown ends in the conventional sense but that the lay-down of the thread does not follow the pattern of a conventional shortening stroke traverse. "The length of yarn laid down by one movement of the traverse. bar is not constant nor is the position of such length of yarn on the bobbin constant.

An alternative thread traversing apparatus is illustrated in Figures 6, 7 and 8, and may be described as follows: A pin 2 is non-rotatably mounted in the traverse bar and rotatably.

mounted on this pin is a disc 22 held in place on the pin 25 by means of nut 21 and collar 2l.- A

' single arm thread guide 29 is non-rotatably fixed such a random positioning, to construct the assembly so thatthe center of gravity of the disc and guide arm unit will not coincide with the axis of rotation, and'such an expedient is shown in the drawings which illustrate the-disc as a mutilated circle. The yarn pressure on the guide arm causes the assembly to oscillate in arandom s manner around its center of rotation thereby causing the yarn tobe laid down depending on the position of .the thread guide at the end of the stroke of the traverse bar. As in the case of the assembly shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, the yarn package will be formed with tapered ends. Yarn packages produced with random lay-down according to the description set forth above can,

contrary to what would be expected, be unwound 1 from one end of the bobbin with substantial freedom from yarn breakage'and with substantially uniform tension. Thus, when the yarn is sub-.

jected to a coning operation it is unwound rapidly at low tension, if desired, and facilitates theretmation of a uniformly wound cone of yarn. This invention is not limited, in its application, to the use of the two species of traverse guide assemblies illustrated in Figures 3 to 8. Any yarn guide, for example, a'flxed guide of sufflciently resilient character, which, by virtue of its construction, will cause the yarn to be laid down at random, is adapted for use in applying the principles of the invention provided that the construction of the package is within the limits set forth below; r

Referring to the guide shown in Figures 3 to 5, it is not essential that a spring be included to supplement the bouncing action of the block 23,

although such a spring element is preferred. This spring may be constructed of any suitable material, for example, steel, fiber board, etc. The relationship between the center of gravity and the center of rotation of the random guide assembly may be determined to suit those conditions which insure best performance. Instead of an angle of play of 40 for block 23 any other convenient angle may be used. Although," in the species of random guide assemblyshown in Figures 3 to 5, it is preferred that the guide arm be attached to a block, this is not necessary, since any type or single arm guide which is mounted in such a way as to have limited motion in the direction of trverse may be used in applying the principles of the invention.

In the random guide assembly of Figures 6 to 8 inclusive, the disc 'member 25 may have a shape ;'very different from that illustrated in the said figures of the drawingsso long asthe center of gravity is so positioned as to present a satis= factory random rotation.

It has been found expedient to locate the wind-up bobbin, as shown in Figure 1, in a position above and back of the size roll thereby permitting the yarnto be laid on to the bobbin by means of a single arm traverse guide instead of the usual biiurcated one. This results in simplicity of construction, facility in stringing up the machine and, particularly, a lessening of the amount of composition rubbed on during contact of the yarn with the thread guide. In order that a um oisize be rubbed oil ot the yarn, the yarn should," after leaving the sizing roller, come iii? in contact with as few elements as possible prior I to being wound up. r

Referring to the modification shown in Figures 6 to 8 inclusive, shaft 25 and guide arm 39 have been illustrated as perpendicular to. the plane of travel of the yarn, thereby preventing the yarn from moving back and forth along the guide arm 29 during winding. Due to this constructiomthe size rubbed of! on the guide arm is removed about as rapidly as it is de ted and does not have an opportunity to collect as a hard aln'asive upon dryins of the guide. In the embodiment of Figures 3, 4 and 5, the same object is obtained by virwe of the fact that the guide is bent at the end thereby maintaining the'yarn guide arm, during its travel to the wind-up Inasmuch as this invention exhibits its greatest advantages when applied to the winding of sized yarn which is wound while wet, it is desirable to point out that the size 'should be applied to the yarn uniformly. ,Assuming that the angular rotation oi the wind-uppackage remains constant as the yarn builds up; the linear velocity of the yarn increases and" this means that, in such a system, progressively less size will be applied to the yarn as thewind-up package is formed. 'This dimculty may be overcome by compensation; for

example, the time of contact of yarn ,with the size roll may be kept constant by making the arc of contact ofthe yarn with the size roll progreseater or th 'rotation of thewind-up the moist size tends to accumulate on the driving 7 roller. These diiierent compensating means are expensive and the necessity for using'such conipensation may be eliminated by utilizing a large wind-up bobbin, for example, '6 inches in dimeter, on which a comparatively thin cake of yarn, e. g'., /2 in'ch thickness or less, is wound. The use of a 6-inch bobbin on which a /2436 cake is wound involves a difference of only about 10% of size "applied, per unit of length of yarn, from. the beginning to th end ofthe wind-up, and an. added advantage in the use of bobbins and yarncakes of this size where the yarn is wound up while still moist with size, resides in the fact that drying takes place more rapidly and wishing.

(the migration of size" from. the inside to the outside of the yarn .cake) is minimized. OI

course, where it is not important to maintain the application of size per unit in narrow limits during the winding, 9. thick cake .of-yarn may-be wound on the receiving package and-a less ,diameter of bobbin or other yarn receiving element (e. 2., a tube or a pirn) may be used, the package still presenting utility as a supply package in subsequent operations such as twisting or knitting.

In order to dry the yam on the wind-up ho It at a controlled rate, a heating device such as is illustrated inelements is and ll of Figure l is used. Heating element i! may, for example, be an electrical strip heater, metallic shield it being so formed that the heated air may remain in proximity tothe wind-up bobbin for a longer period of time. Other forms of heating device and shield may be used, for examplainira red lamps and other types of devices located near the wind-up bobbin. By the use of heating apparatus, of thecharacterjdescribcd the yarn dries at a predetermined rate and the size adheres tenaciously and imparts to fabrics made frm the sized yarn, a high resistance to snagging.

. In line with the'desire to obtain uniform application 01 size to. yarn, especially in a bobbinto-bobbin operation in which the yarn is wound up wet, yarn having a low degree of twist, .e. g., two turns per inch, could heretofore be sized uniiormly only with great diihculty. Non-uniformity of size application to low twist yarn tends to at the bend in the of length of yarn. withlower the quality of the finished product and causes great difliculty in the subsequent twisting of the sized yarn causing, among other things, anuneven twist. Non-uniformity of size application especially with low twist yarn, is caused by a fluttering of the yarn on the size roll. Such fluttering is diminished by means of the tension devices 5 and 6 of Figure 1 which are disposed perpendicularly to one another.

In the case of yarn which is wound up while wet with size, the size being dried on the wind-up.

bobbin, the windings of yarn will adhere with some force to adjacent windings due to the solidification of the size while the yarn windings are in tight contact with each other. It is evident' that such a character of yarn will not, unless great care is taken, unwind readily under anything like constant tension and without a large number of breaks. In accordance with the present invention, it is found that yarn cakes of this. character may readily be unwound. The ease with which the package is unwound depends to a large extent on the taper at the end of the package. Thus sized yam which is wound wet into a package having straight ends cannot be tion of loops under prior art practice was considered a definite disadvantage, and the use of a random lay-down principle superficially at least appears to be somewhat analogous to the formation of loops:

Inasmuch as the above description and the drawings are largely illustrative rather than limitative, any modifications or variations thereof longitudinally of said yarn receiving device, and

unwound satisfactorily and this is especially true i where the unwinding is accomplished over one end of the package. random wind-up of the present invention, unwinding takes place rapidly and emciently.

Although the invention hasbeen described in its preferred tonnes a combined sizing and winding operation, the principles of the invention may nevertheless be applied generally to other types However, when utilizing the tate and other cellulose derivative fibers, cotton,

wool and silk. Fbr purposes of convenience, it is desired to'state that the term synthetic linear polyamide," as used throughout the specification and claims, is intended to refer specifically to the fiber-forming material described and claimed in United States Letters Patent Nos. 2,071,250, 2,130,523 and 2,130,948. Synthetic linear polymers other than the polyamides are described in United States Letters Patent No. 2,071,250.

It will be seen from the above description that by the practice of this invention, it is possible to'build up a taper-ended package Without the necessity of using complicated devices to decrease the traverse stroke or to change its point of origin. Packages of yarn produced in accordance with this invention may be unwound easily under constant tension and with a minimum of breakage, even though the yarn is wound during the formation of the package while wet with size. Additionally, the invention has produced yarn packages free from loops and .tuck-unders by laying the yarn down in a random fashion. It could hardly have been expected, in advance, that the random lay-down of yarn windings would produce an easily unwound package since the formaa thread guide freely rotatably mounted on the traverse element, the thread guide being adapted to change its position on the traversing mechanism whereby to effect a random lay-down of the yarn on the yarn receiving device.

2. Yarn winding apparatus comprising a yarn receiving device such as a bobbin or the like, traversing mechanism for positively reciprocating the yarn from one end of the yarn receiving device to the other, said mechanism including a' traverse element adapted to pass back and forth longitudinally, of said yarn receiving device, and a thread guide pivoted on the traverse element, the thread guide being adapted to freely rotate, at least in part, onits pivot whereby to effect a random lay-down of the yarn on the-yarn receiving device.

3. Yarn winding apparatus comprising a rotatable yarn receiving means, a traversing member positioned to move back and-forth longitudinally of said yarn receiving means, a yarn guide pivotally connected to said traversing member to move therewith, said guide being'free to turn at random about said pivotal connection. 4. Yarn winding apparatus comprising a rotatable yarn receiving means, a traversing member positioned to move back and forth longitudinally of said yarn receiving means, a yarn guide pivotally connected to said traversing memher to move therewith, said yarn guide being free to turn, within a limited angle, at random about said pivotal connection.

5. Yarn winding apparatus comprising a rotatable yarn receiving means, a traversing member positioned to move back and forth longitudinall of said yarn receiving means, a yarn guide pivotally connected to said traversing member to move therewith, said guide being free to turn at random about said pivotal connection, and cooperating stop members positioned respectively on said yarn guide and said traversing member, said stop members restricting said free random turning of said guide within a limited angle.

6. Yarn winding apparatus-as defined in claim 5 in which at least one of said stop members is resilient whereby to impart a bouncing action to 2 uide upon impact between said stop memers.

ERNEST KNIGHT GLADDING. 

